South Sudan blames fighting in neighboring Sudan and attacks in the Red Sea for its crisis

abcnews.go.com:

South Sudan’s government is blaming the country’s economic crisis in part on fighting in neighboring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping

JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan's government on Tuesday blamed the country's economic crisis in part on the fighting in neighboring Sudan and the instability in the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been attacking international shipping.

With most government workers not having been paid for the past of five months and the cost of living skyrocketing, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters that outside factors have impacted South Sudan’s oil exports — the country’s main source of revenue.

The news conference by Lueth was meant to provide an update on South Sudan's sluggish economy since the 2018 signing of a peace deal that ended the country's own internal conflict.

Lueth also said that oil wells, which were water-logged by heavy floods over the past rainy season, are not yet fully operational.

The low levels of productivity have been compounded by the fact that the pipeline taking South Sudan’s crude through Sudan to its main Red Sea hub, Port Sudan, has been blocked in areas where there is fighting, he said.

But even if the crude oil were to reach Port Sudan, it would still not be possible to ship it because of the ongoing threats to shipping in the Red Sea, Leuth said.

“So, apart from low production, there are physical difficulties confronting the oil sector," he said. “The combination of all these factors has seriously affected” South Sudan.

Neighboring Sudan plunged into chaos in mid-April when clashes erupted in the capital, Khartoum, between rival Sudanese forces — the